March 8, 2007
Just a quick note to those who are beta testing Todo 3.0 - you will most likely need to uninstall Todo2.zip. To do this (no pun intended) you can either remove it through the Windows Control Panel ->Add/Remove thing, or run the Todo 2.0 installer and select the "remove" option. Make sure to scribble down everything in your list first, as once it is uninstalled, it is gone for good!
A big special thanks to 'mutex' again. He has given me more invaluable feedback on Todo 3.0 running on Windows Vista. It's too bad the internet doesn't allow us to send cookies to eachother. Otherwise, I would send a dozen to mutex!
February 28, 2007
I just want to give a big thanks to 'mutex' from gamedev.net. He was able to give me some feedback and do some beta testing of Todo 3.0 on Windows Vista. He managed to find a few things, which I have been able to correct (near as I can figure). So, without further ado, I present to you Todo 3.0 Beta 2!
For those of you who are curious to know what Todo 3.0 is, it is a simple to-do list that starts up and shuts down with Windows. When closed, it hides down in the system tray (similar to programs like MSN Messenger). Todo 3.0 has a few new features over Todo 2.0, including:
- new priority levels (high, medium, low, and none)
- sorting by priority, due date, and tasks (alphabetical)
- Autosaving! (in the rare (or not so rare) event that your machine bombs on you, your todo list won't. It's autosaved if any changes are made to it
- new context menu! Right click on the main window to do stuff!
- keyboard shortcuts - now your hands don't have to leave the keyboard to click menus (although you can use the menus if you wish)
- a better looking application icon, created by your's truly : )
- improved Windows Vista compatability*
So yeah, give it a shot and let me know what you think. Especially you Vista users! Any feedback is appreciated. If you have some new ideas or thoughts about it, drop me a line. I keep track of all the feedback I get. (Strangely enough, I use Todo to track all that!.
*this still needs some testing, but is in the works.
February 22, 2007
Todo 3.0 beta is out! Todo3.0Setup.msi
Please remember that it is still in Beta, and I haven't written any documentation for it yet. If you encounter any bugs or have any suggestions, please contact me at:
joelisthebest [at] gmail [dot] com.
February 20, 2007
Ok, so there is one last small bug that I need to work out of Todo 3.0 beta (unless of course you want to be badgered by a notification ballon every 10 seconds that you have an overdue task when you really don't). That, and I need to create the installer for it (which shouldn't take much. Famous last words though).
February 16, 2007
Wow, talk about progress!
Things are really cruzing along with Todo 3.0. At the rate I am going I could possibly have the Beta up as early as Saturday evening. At this point I have a few small polishing things to do
February 12, 2007
I just noticed that my posts for this year were marked as 2006. My bad.
Progress with Todo 3.0 has hit a grinding halt. I am getting some pretty strange problems happening with the DataGridView. I am able to open up Todo (and automatically load and fill the DataGridView), add new items, but the minute that I sort it, it explodes. If I open it up and don't add any new rows, but sort it, it works fine. It would be logical to think that the error lies in the code that adds a new row, but I have checked and rechecked it. I think this might require a post on the MSDN forums. It's the DataGridView.Sort method that is throwing the exception, but the only details that it gives don't give any indication of what is actually wrong.
February 5, 2007
Well, things the past while have been interesting. Todo 3.0 has hit a few unexpected snags, as well as I have had oodles of school work lately. Hopefully the beta will be done soon. Also, gamedev.net seems to have dropped down for a while. They are saying it was an attack. It beats me who would want to attack the site.
January 25, 2007
Things with Todo 3.0 are certainly coming along quite nicely. A few more features to code, and I should be ready for some preliminary beta testing. Maybe I will get the beta out in January, as I had originally planned! Interested in getting in on the beta? Drop me a line! (rcjbvermilion (at) hotmail.com).
January 18, 2007
Well, I figured I would do a quick update. Todo 3.0 is coming along quite nicely. I already have a few of the features working that weren't in Todo 2.0 (such as keyboard shortcuts, 4 priority levels, and the ability to select multiple tasks to delete at once). School work is definitely making things go a littel slower (yes, school comes first).
January 13, 2007 - Hmmm....
I am not sure when they started, but apparently now the people who gave me the free .tk domain name are forcing people to view a banner ad before entering the site, as well as an advertisement at the top of the page. I think from now on I will give people a direct link to the site. That's a bit of a disappointment (I was hoping to put a link on my resume, but I don't think I want to do that now). I had a friend recently volunteer to host my stuff on his server space. Perhaps I should take him up on that offer.
January 13, 2007 - Whoah, long time, no updates!
Like the title says, I can't believe how long it has been since I have done an update. I guess that just shows to show you how much time post secondary education in combination with a new xbox 360 can eat your time.
I also just started working on Todo 3.0. It is already starting to look good! Don't believe me? Take a look (click the picture for a slightly larger version):
If all goes according to plan, Todo 3.0 will add a number of new and much needed features, including
- autosaving
- dates/times for task completion
- keyboard shortcuts (already working!)
- context menus (right click to do stuff!)
If anyone reading this would like to give me a hand, I am looking for a nice icon for the application (in the top left of the window) as well as a new icon that will show up in the system tray when Todo is minimized. Also, if anyone can think of something better than colored stars to show priority (red for high, yellow medium, green for low, white/gray for no priority), please let me know. (joel@joelbennett.tk).
December 29, 2006
Hurray! I finally got around to updating the links section with lots of XNA goodness. In doing so, I also came across more blogs for the XNA team. Interesting stuff!
That, and I found out my Xbox360 has arrived, although I won't get to see it until I head back to school at the beginning of January. I sure have been enjoying my break from school, but I haven't been doing as much programming as I thought I was going to be doing. Oh well.
December 18, 2006
Whoah, what a week!
This past week I had 5 final exams (Western History, Linear Algebra, Software Engineering, Efficient Data Structures in C++, and Microeconomics) totalling somewhere around 10 or 11 hours. Ugh! But the good news is that it is over! To continue on with the craziness, I am moving (just down the street - cheaper rent, and a few other reasons) tomorrow, and heading home Wednesday for the holidays. Perhaps, just perhaps, after all that I will be able to squeeze in a little XNA programming or start work on Todo 3.0 (or perhaps start writing that article on the Theory of Fun that I have been wanting to write...)
I am just wishing that I hadn't taken my chair apart to pack it so quickly. Kneeling on the carpet while posting this isn't the most confortable thing in the world.
December 11, 2006
Well, final exams are on the doorstep for me. My first exam (of five) is tomorrow. It should prove to be interesting. The class is called "Efficient Data Structures and Algorithms in C++". I certainly have learned a fair bit in the class.
In other news, some good news came this past week. On Friday I got confirmation that Loblaw's had received my waiver/release form. I found out a few weeks ago that I had won an Xbox 360 in a draw sponsored by Loblaw's (a grocery chain in Canada), Pepsi, and Doritos. Hopefully I will get the machine before Christmas. In other news, XNA Game Studio Express v1.0 was just released this morning. The only thing I could use now is a subscription to the game creator's club in order to make my own Xbox 360 games. Pretty sweet, eh?
I will also be moving this month. The place I am moving into has a pretty neat view. We (my future roommates and I) will be right on the edge of town. I will be able to look from my front steps and see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. I will have to take a few pictures once I get moved in.
December 4, 2006
Someone was kind enough to let me know of a small bug that occured in Todo 2.0. I am still looking into what caused it. I guess I shouldn't worry about it too much, considering I am planning to begin rewriting Todo 3.0 after my final exams are over. If you have any feedback/bug reports, or any thing else you want to tell me, drop me a line at joel@joelbennett.tk. I like seeing friendly e-mails in my inbox!
December 1, 2006
Wow, hard to believe that it is already December! Of Course that means finals are right around the corner. Anyway, hopefully I will be able to update the links section with some nice XNA related links in the next day or two.
Congratulations to everyone that got an entry in to GameDev.net's 4 Elements Contest. I have heard nothing but positive comments about the entries. It looks like I will have to try some of them out.
November 24, 2006
Wow, I just realized how long its been since I have last updated the site! School has been eatiing any available time I have had.
I had a wonderful piece of news this week: I won an xbox 360! I had entered a draw at a local grocery store for "The Ultimate Game Room Contest" put on by Pepsi, Doritos, Microsoft and Loblaw's. The guy that won first place got a 40" flat panel TV and a bunch of stuff. I think there were something like 38 xbox 360s up for grab for second place, and I was lucky enough to get one! Hopefully I will hear back soon from Loblaw's (I had to fax in a contest release form, and haven't heard back from them since). I have no idea if it is a core system, or if it is one of the other ones. Either way, I am excited! Now if only I could get my hands on one of the XNA Creator's Club memberships...
November 11, 2006
I just got around to updating the projects page. Have a look!
Things with school have been pretty crazy lately, and are only going to get worse in the next few weeks. Sadly, that will mean I probably won't be updating the site in the next few weeks...
November 6, 2006
I have been thinking a lot about todo 3.0. I am pretty sure I have all the features nailed out that I want to add to it, and I am thinking that I want to have it started and finished by January 2007. That is only about two months away. Considering I wrote the last version of Todo in about two weeks, during a full course load of school, I don't see this being a problem.
I think my goal with Todo 3.0 will be twofold. First, I want to help people be more efficient. Second, I want to raise enough money via shareware to purchase a car for my sister. A lofty goal, indeed, but a good one. The poor girl has to get up very early in the morning (like 5:00 am) in order to take several buses to make it to work on time. That, and simple tasks like grocery shopping become quite difficult and time consuming. I am all for public transit, don't get me wrong, but I really feel it would be something special I can do for my sister. I have heard of people making a more than modest living off shareware (in particular, games), so people are willing to pay for a good product. Now it is just up to me to create such a product!
(In case you are wondering what car I have in mind, I have my eye on the Toyota Aygo. From what I have heard, it gets very good mileage, and is well built. It is currently sold in Europe, and is supposed to be coming to North America by 2008. This ought to give me a little time to achieve my goal!)
October 31, 2006
I just thought of a strange quotable quote:
"If you want something more than anything else in the world, then why don't you work like you want it more than anything else in the world?" - Joel Bennett
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